American Crime (2015–2017): Season 1, Episode 2 - Episode Two - full transcript

Mr. Skokie, this is Chuck Palmer

with the city of Modesto
Robbery/Homicide division.

You're going to see
a table with a body on it.

I need you to tell me if the
body you see is your son.

That's Matt.

Is Gwen dead?

Gwen's at the hospital.
She's in critical condition.

There are indications she
was sexually assaulted.

- Have you called his mother yet?
- No, sir.

Well, what are the police doing?

They have a description of a car.



They think it might be an hispanic kid.

- Some illegal?
- Tony Gutiérrez?

I have some other officers that
would like to speak with you.

Mr. Gutiérrez, we need your
son to tell us what's going on.

You have something to say, you say it.

Adam, he knows this guy

that's looking for a car for the night.

You were renting our car?

Look, Hector, it's on somebody else,

or it's on you.

- I didn't kill nobody.
- Who did?

There's this black dude.

Him and his girl are a couple of meth heads.

Says there's this white guy that owes him.



We didn't do nothing!

We have four suspects in custody,

two who facilitated and one
who we believe is the shooter.

Mr. Skokie, you had a good
relationship with your son.

In our search of his property,

we recovered a large quantity
of crystallized methamphetamine

and cannabis.

Would your son have told
you if he was a drug dealer?

I'm Judge Sean Henlow,

and this is the arraignment calendar

for felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions

filed in stanislaus county superior court.

Before we deal with each
case on the calendar today,

I'm going to talk to you
about our court procedures

so that you have at least
some idea of what to expect

today and in the future.

The court clerk provided you

with our arraignment information sheet.

An arraignment is generally
your first appearance in court

on a citation or complaint...

Whereupon you will be asked
by a judge to enter your plea.

The judge or prosecuting attorney

will read the citation
or complaint to you...

♪ Only thou art holy ♪

♪ There is none beside thee ♪

- the judge will inform you...
- ♪ Perfect in power ♪

♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪

♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪

♪ Merciful and mighty ♪

♪ God in three persons ♪

♪ Blessed trinity ♪

Subtitles edited by
Ehhhhtozebec

Mr. Nix.

Mr. Nix.

I'm going to read the items
you've been charged with.

Mr. Nix, do you understand what I'm saying?

You are charged with
first-degree felony murder

with the use of a firearm,

causing death or great bodily injury,

enhancement with special circumstances.

You are also charged with violations

of the penal code, Sections
212.5, Subdmsion "A"...

First-degree robbery,
206... torture, 261... rape,

and 289... penetration with an instrument.

I'm going to appoint the public defender

to represent you and
enter pleas of not guilty.

Bail is denied,

and you are remanded to
the custody of the sheriff.

Give me your hand. Press down.

Your son is being processed
at the county juvenile hall

pending court proceedings.

- Tony's potentially facing a real serious situation.
- Now to your left.

- Back of the line.
- Come on, little bitch.

If he's directly connected to the crime,

he's gonna be charged with murder.

This is a pretty brutal act.

I would expect that they
would try him as an adult.

Bitch!

That's if he is connected to the crime.

If not, then it's wide open.

He can be incarcerated
as a juvenile offender

on a lesser charge.

He could just get probation.

What do...

What do I have to do to
get my son out of here?

What do I... What do I do?

The juvenile system is not
the same as the adult system.

But what do I have to do, okay?

What about bail? Can we get bail?

- There's no bail.
- We should be able to get bail.

There is no bail.

Tony will be assigned a
probation-intake officer

to investigate all the circumstances

- relating to the charges.
- Charges for what?

- He didn't do anything.
- He made voluntary statements.

But the police lied to me.

They didn't tell me why
they wanted to talk to Tony.

The detective asked you
if he could question Tony.

- You gave him permission.
- Yeah.

Why didn't you tell Tony
to ask for a lawyer?

The second he asks for a
lawyer, everything stops.

- I didn't know.
- You run a business.

How can you run a business
and not know how lawyers work?

Up. Let's go.

- Got a hold on that.
- Move.

Come on.

Hey, man!

What's up, boys?

Damn! Look what we got here, Wes.

What the hell is this? Who the hell are you?

What's your name, bitch?

It's Tony.

It's what? Did you just say "bitch"?

Are you kidding me?

I said Tony.

That's a messed-up name.

Did your mama name you that?

Is your mama a bitch?

D-don't look at him. I'm talking to you.

Is your mama a bitch?
You named after your mama?

Hey, man, chill out.

We just playing.

Grab your bunk. We're just having fun.

Naw, bitch. That's my bunk.

That's your bunk. Wes,
get up out of his bunk.

Yeah, bitch can come make me get up.

Damn, girl!

You gonna let him talk to you like that?

Come on, bitch.

Go all "Machete Kills" on that white boy.

Am I gonna see a doctor or what?

You hear me? Huh?

Am I seeing a damn doctor or what?

You can't hear me or what?

Scott.

So, after work on Friday,

Matt's like, "come on out and get a beer."

And getting beers on Friday,

that's, uh... that's what me and him did

Friday before that, Friday before that.

So I figured, "what's
- what's the big deal?"

You know, one Friday we don't go for beers.

And then I come in work Monday morning,

and I find out he's dead,
and... and Gwen's...

I'm sorry as hell, Mr. Skokie.

You know, you should know
he was all about you.

He was always like, "Sunday, man.

Got to get on the phone
with my dad on Sunday."

How was Matt? Was he getting along?

- He was.
- He was getting along okay.

No... no problems?

Everybody's got problems.

Yeah, did he ever...

Did he ever talk about
when he was growing up?

He, uh... he told me that
you ran off or something,

and that it was mainly just
him and his mom and brother.

Yeah, well, you know, I-I put
them through a lot, you know?

And when I was coming out of it,

when I was getting through my problems,

uh, the only thing I had

were those phone calls
with Matt and his brother.

And, you know...
And it was a year of trying.

Year of trying before Matt would even, um,

you know, even respond to
me, and then, you know,

I don't know how long before he'd even...

You know, he'd really talk to me.

Having... having some kind
of a relationship with them,

that's what saved me.

And I mean that how I say it.

It saved me.

So, um... you know, if there's anything

that you can tell me about Matt...

It doesn't matter. Whatever.

It doesn't... It doesn't matter now.

I, uh...

Was Matt on drugs?

D-did... did he... Did he deal drugs?

- What?
- Did... I mean, 'cause...

No, but they're saying things about Matt.

They're saying things about
him, and I need to know.

He had some grass around. Everybody does.

So... so, yeah, just a little...

- A little weed, and then some beers on Friday...
- Yeah?

Like I said, but that doesn't
make anybody a dealer.

Okay, s-s-so he just
smoked a little marijuana?

Is... is that what you're saying?

Look, your... your son,
he had a lot going on.

And I figure, you go to war,
the crap you put up with...

So when you come back, you know...

All I know for sure

is he really liked talking
to you on Sunday, okay?

And I am sorry for what
you're going through.

So, I got to get back to work, man.

- Take care.
- Appreciate it. Yeah.

After this, we're done?

After this, you stop
calling us all the time?

I've called you twice, sir.

If I tell you something,
you'll leave us alone?

People just want to know how you feel.

My wife and I are thankful the
police have made an arrest.

That's not gonna change

what happened to our daughter and Matt.

But everything else, that's up...

That's up for the courts and the juries,

and that's as it should be.

The only thing I ask for

is that people pray for our daughter.

And respect our privacy.

We're done.

The... the suspects were black and hispanic.

- Does that have any...
- We are done!

I want to talk to you.
We want your testimony.

Screw that. They're cutting me loose.

The judge gave you probation,

and when you break it, you're
gonna be right back here.

You're an addict and a punk.

When you get in trouble,
you're gonna need help.

Why do you care?

'Cause your boy raped and killed.

He's going away.

You want me?

Is that why you keep coming after me?

I can look like a boy if you want.

I can let you call me Greg.

He didn't do it.

Why you have to say anything?

Shut up.

No, you're the one couldn't
keep your mouth shut.

Shut up, man. Shut the hell up!

You're a dumbass, you know that?

You think you just ended up in here with me.

They put you here.

They want us to say something stupid.

I don't know how bad you got it,

but if you want it worse, keep talking.

All I'm saying is what they already know,

you a stupid meth head.

You got yourself screwed, not me.

I didn't say anything
more than what I had to.

I don't snitch.

Not for nothing, I don't snitch.

So, come on. I ain't playing.

I told you I ain't playing!

Let's go!

Come on!

Where you at?!

We need to start
thinking about the future.

The only way to get
through what's going on now

is to think about what's next.

So, when Gwen's released, um...
she's going to need help.

She's going to need therapy,

and she's going to need to be near us.

But we want her to be near Matt, too.

We'd like Matt to be buried close.

Where?

In Oakland.

It's where we're all from.
It's where they met.

They lived here in Modesto.

Would you really want to come back here

to visit his grave after this?

Hey, Dad. How's it going?

When Gwen is better,

we never want to see this city again.

Now, w-with the exception of Russ,

Oakland, it's close to us all.

It j... It just makes sense.

Maybe we should wait and
see how Gwen progresses.

She's going to be fine.

So, we need to start planning now.

We are just asking you to consider it.

- Mm-hmm.
- Just consider it.

Mm-hmm.

It would have been good

for you to have been at the arraignment.

We were with Gwen.

We were at prayer services.

We were praying for our daughter's recovery.

It's the kind of thing people notice...

Relatives of the victims not being in court.

It was an arraignment.

- It wasn't the trial.
- Tom.

There are gonna be these
various hearings and things,

and... if we're not
there, people will notice.

You talk about doing things together,

taking care of our children.

But honest to God, you could pray anywhere.

You want to support our children,

do it by being in the courtroom.

Russ, thanks for your time.

Eve, I think we're finished.

Just think about it.

Yes.

Is burying Matt in Oakland...

I mean, is that something you would even...

No.

It's where we're from.

It's everything I had to get
Matt and Mark away from.

Uh, th-then where?

I... will take Matt with me,
get him a plot in Simi Valley.

And you get to decide that?

Yes.

- We need to talk.
- No. No, we don't.

Uh, we... we need to talk about Matt.

I mean, Matt was having problems.

Matt was having problems,

and he was doing things he probably sh...

They found drugs in his house.

Who found drugs?

Lots of them.

A lot more than he could
have possibly used himself.

Who found drugs?

I talked to, uh, Detective Thompson.

It's not true.

- I don't know. I mean...
- You don't know what?

How would you know anything about Matt?

Uh, well, I talked to one of his friends.

Why would you spread lies to people?

I didn't spread... Do you
even know his friends?

What do you think you know about Matt? I...

And you know everything about Matt

because you called up one of his friends

out of an address book?

Did you know about any drugs?

Go back to Arizona.

You can't see him.

Why not?

Your name got kicked back. You're a felon.

I-I'm not a felon. I'm on probation.

You're on felony probation.

You're a felon until you complete probation.

No prison visitations.

How am I supposed to see him?

I don't know.

You don't know or you don't give a...?

Yeah, that's what I mean.

I want... I want... I
want... I want to see him.

You want to get arrested?

You can leave or you can get arrested.

Which do you want?

You got to be...

Did any of the boys

make physical contact with you in any way?

No.

In any way were you assaulted or molested?

They said I was a bitch.

They said that was my name.

They kept telling me to
move to a different bunk.

Okay.

I'm gonna make an official
notation regarding the wards,

and I'll make sure that the floor officers

are aware of the problem.

But if they're not making
physical contact with you,

there's not much I can do.

Move me to a different place.

Unit housing is the most secure environment

that we can provide for you.

Now, all the units have an intercom

that rings directly to the watch desk.

Every unit has a night light.

I don't need night lights!

Not that you need...

I-I'm not a baby! I just want to go home!

Tony.

After you speak to your
probation-intake officer...

Tony.

After you speak to your P.I.O.,

then we'll have a better idea
of what's going to happen next.

All right?

All right?

Okay.

Can I go?

Yeah.

How come you
didn't answer your phone?

- Didn't you see it was me calling?
- I saw.

Well, you answer your phone when I call you.

- Yeah, whatever.
- What did you say?

Hey!

Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't walk away.

Did you tell Tony to say
all those things to the police?

Mija, that was not my
fault. They lied to me.

You keep blaming them.

Why would you let Tony tell them anything

if you didn't know what
they were talking about?

Mija, I didn't let him do anything.

You were sitting right there.

You trust them more than you trust Tony?

You're like a sellout.

Are you out of your mind
talking to me like that?

- Huh?
- You're just like them.

You see someone brown with
a hoodie, they're a thug.

You need to stop running
your mouth right now.

You see someone with
tattoos, they're a cholo.

You're not gonna stand
here and tell me about me!

You wish you were white!

You do.

You wish you were white so
they would like you better.

You hate yourself and you
hate us for looking like you.

Naw, get out. You
need to get the hell out.

- Yeah, out and go where?
- Yeah, not my problem.

- You bring the police around?
- Are you kidding me?

I paid for this place.
We paid for this place.

I'm telling you right now,
get your crap and go!

- You can't just kick me out!
- Yes, I can!

- We're not leaving! I am not!
- I'm gonna throw your ass...

Look, we are in a hard place right now.

And we need help with all this.

Well, sure. I mean,
anything I can do to help.

Need help with Barb.

Mm-hmm.

Now, I know that she doesn't want Matt

buried close to us.

Oh, no, no.

Yes, she thinks that Eve
and I are a pair of zealots

who were out to brainwash your child.

Uh, well, no, no. I mean,
I-it's not about that.

I made thing...

Things were really bad for her in Oakland,

and she can't go back to that part, see?

- So, anyplace else...
- You have a say in this.

If there's maybe another place,
I could maybe talk to her.

How you feel matters.

- Well...
- It matters.

- Were Matt and Gwen happy together?
- Yes.

Please don't just say

what you think you're supposed to say.

I'm really asking.

Well, I... I know Gwen, and I know Matt.

Look, I-I read that garbage
that Barb was saying

in the papers about them
being a perfect couple.

Well, t-they weren't perfect. Nobody is.

But they were real.

Mm.

Our kids were real,

and they deserve to be near one another.

Now, you have just as much a claim

on your son's body as Barb does.

So, please, for him, for
his wife, for his family,

do what is right, what is decent.

Now, you fight her however
you have to fight her,

but do what's right.

Can we count on you?

Excuse me, Mrs. Skokie.

It's, uh, Hanlon.

Chris Thompson.

I got a message you wanted to speak with me.

Yes.

I'm sure you talked to your husband

about the situation we
have regarding your son.

We recovered drugs from your son's house...

A good quantity.

So, obviously, we have questions about that.

If there's anything that you can tell us

about your son's activities,

anything that you're personally aware of...

you want me to do what?

- If you have any information regarding your so...
- Y-you want... you want...

You want me to help you lie about my son?

Where is... the other one?

Excuse me? Where's, uh... Palmer?

Where is he?

Excuse me?

Could you, uh... hi.

I'm looking for Detective Palmer.

Hey, I'm looking for a detective.

Have you seen Detective Palmer?

- Ah. Detective Palmer.
- He's not here.

Detective Palmer isn't here.

- You know, I'm not stupid.
- If you want to talk to somebody,

- you have to deal with me.
- I'm not stupid.

I know what you're doing.

Blame my son, blame the victim,

make it his fault so...
so you don't look bad.

- Those people shot my son.
- "Those people"?

Yes, they shot my son, and
they raped my daughter-in-law.

And if you keep spreading your lies,

there is going to be a problem.

- Okay.
- Okay.

- Okay.
- Ma'am, at this point,

what we know is that on
your son's property...

You know what?

We recovered a large quantity

- of crystallized...
- You.

♪ Face me ♪

♪ it's easy in my memory ♪

♪ hold me ♪

♪ I remember you ♪

♪ face me ♪

♪ it's easy in my memory ♪

♪ hold me ♪

♪ I remember ♪

♪ hold me ♪

♪ I remember ♪

Various charges you're
facing in the county...

Transporting stolen property,
accessory after the fact...

They're being set aside.

So, what does that mean? I get to walk?

Local charges are secondary.

A warrant's come up for you.

From Sinaloa.

In Mexico.

I know where Sinaloa's at.

It's for murder. You know about that?

No, I know...

- You know anything about that?
- I know that. I know it's some bull...

Okay, well, there's a warrant,
and we're gonna extradite you.

What about all this mess up here?

I'm a witness, right?

They already have your statement.

You got to do something to fight that.

I can't.

What do you mean you can't? You're a lawyer.

Extradition is federal, you understand?

You're wanted for murder.
They're sending you back.

¿Que es habla en español o inglés?

- English is cool.
- Okay.

They explain to you what we're doing?

They said you're gonna talk to me.

I'll be your probation-intake officer.

I'm gonna interview you as
part of the, uh, investigation

concerning the circumstances of your case.

Based on the investigation,

we're gonna make certain recommendations.

You're gonna put me in jail.

We're gonna do what's best
under the circumstances, Tony.

And what's that mean?

Let's just talk about the situation, okay?

Now, the car that you lent Hector Tontz,

did you know what he was using it for?

No.

But you suspected he was in a gang.

You told the police you
thought he was in a gang.

So, what did you think he
was doing with the car?

Tony...

This may be your only chance
to speak up for yourself.

That's what they told me before.

And they put me in here.

Look, I don't know what
they told you before,

but I'm telling you now

you need to speak up for yourself, okay?

Now, you knew that Hector
was doing something illegal.

I didn't know somebody got killed.

But you also never told anyone about Hector.

You didn't tell your father.

- I couldn't tell him.
- And why not?

'Cause everything... everything we do...

You and your sister?

You got to work harder.
You got to try harder.

He's a parent, Tony. That's what parents do.

He's just trying to encourage you.

It's not about being better,

it's about being better than them.

He's always telling you,

"you're just gonna be a Mexican to them."

That "if you do drugs,
if... if you get in trouble,

"you're just gonna be a Mexican.

You're just gonna be a Mexican."

So, how am I supposed
to tell him about this?

He's gonna find out sooner or later.

You didn't care?

I cared.

But...

Kind of made me happy, you know?

happy that I was doing
something that'll piss him off.

This phone's just
for business. We don't...

It's just a collect call.

- It's not gonna cost you anything.
- It's company policy.

I just need to use the phone.

Even if it's a collect call, I...

I-I just need to use the phone, please.

- It's a collect call. I don't really...
- Hello?

I have a collect
call from Aubry Taylor.

- Will you...
- Aubry?

- Will you accept the charges?
- Where's she calling from?

Just say yes. Say yes.

I need you to accept the charges.

I'll take the charges.

- Go ahead with the call.
- It's company policy.

Please.

- Where are you?
- I need money.

- Where are you?
- I need money.

If I wire you money, you're
just gonna buy drugs.

Look, I can get drugs. I need money.

- Where are you?
- Modesto.

I'm in California.

God.

God, how long have you been...

I'm kind of in trouble, and
if I get in trouble again,

they're gonna send me to jail.

I need the money.

If I send you money, will you stay there?

Will you call and tell me where you are?

I'm not doing this again, understand?

I'm not doing it.

I'll call.

How much money do you need?

A lot.

You're gonna be fine. You're strong.

You just hang in there, honey, okay?

You hang in there.

We're still not sure

how the other two individuals are involved,

but we're working on it.

How do you know what
you're telling me is true?

I'm not telling you this.

The evidence that we got
back is telling us this.

Samples were sent out to a lab...

Oh, labs don't make mistakes.

Would you like me to
explain things to your wife?

And what exactly are you gonna explain?

You don't even know what you're telling me.

What are you gonna tell her?

You okay? What's going on?

Taylor.

Three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, $2,000.

Thank you.

I need a room.

Hello?

I'm at the Ceres Court hotel.

You gonna stay...

Hey. Hey!

Come here. Where are you going?

Uh, going inside.

No, you're not.

- I have to. I have to see...
- The house is sealed.

- You're not going inside.
- It's... it's my son's house.

- Your son?
- Mm-hmm.

- What's your name?
- It's Russ Skokie.

- Is your name on the lease?
- Uh, no.

Then you're not going inside
unless you get a court order.

- No, but it's... It's my son's house.
- I understand that.

- W-why would I need permission to get...
- I under... I understand that it belongs to...

- Into my own son's house?
- I understand that it belongs to your son.

- Why would I possibly need... It's my own son...
- But you... you don't own...

- Sir!
- Five minutes.

- Sir, listen to me.
- Only five minutes.

So, my conversation
with the police detective...

Gwen's rape kit came back from being tested.

Came back negative for any evidence that...

She wasn't assaulted?

It's negative. She wasn't assaulted?

It came back negative for any evidence

that the man who shot Matt assaulted her.

But there is evidence

that she had... intercourse
with somebody else.

I don't understand.

- She was raped.
- No.

No, they don't think it was rape anymore.

They think it was some
kind of consensual sex.

- A kind?
- Mm-hmm.

What kind?

- What kind of sex do they confuse for rape?
- But they're running other tests.

Okay? They're running other tests.

But the detective said
they think that, um...

There was more than one man.

I can't talk about this.

- No, we need to know what happened.
- And do what?

What changes?

Russ was asking me questions
about Matt and Gwen,

- if they were all right.
- Leave that family out of it.

- If they were happy.
- All of them.

They're damaged.

I don't want to hear about any of it.

So, please.

Please just leave it, okay?

Something happened with our daughter.

She's holding on to her life.

That's what's happening.

And you want to talk about
whether she was raped,

- whether she wasn't raped.
- Yes, I do.

Why? What difference does it make?

- Because that is not the child that I raised.
- Don't do it!

Don't do it to her! Don't! Oh, my God.

The very thought of her
with... with other men,

- just makes me sick to my stomach.
- Give me your phone.

- What?
- Give it to me.

- Why?
- Give me your phone! I want it.

Give it...

Get...

Give it to me.

That's her.

That's our daughter.

Daddy.

That's her.

Look.

Look at her.

That's all you need to know.

That's all.

While she's laying there...

That's how you remember her.

So, I heard about your
son and his wife on the news.

You should know that I'm a survivor, too.

When I tell you that I know

what you're going through, I mean it.

I've been there.

I... reached out to you...

to your organization because...

I need help.

And that's not easy for me to ask.

Everything I've done for m-my boys...

I-I-I've done everything on my own.

You're not letting anyone
down by asking for help.

What you're facing is complicated.

As the survivor of a victim,

there are rights you're entitled to.

On your website,

I read that you will
advocate in the court...

If you haven't been properly informed

about any aspect of the legal proceedings,

- if you've been denied an impact statement...
- No, I need something else.

I need...

Look, I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say,

and you can react however you...

If you had three whites

who went into a black's house

and murdered him, raped his wife,

you would have all these black leaders

on Anderson Cooper talking
about how it's a hate crime

and how there ought to be
some special treatment.

But...

But it happens to my son and his wife?

Who's out there for them?

I mean, nobody.

Because...

You know, hate crimes can't
happen to white people.

- That's not true.
- They're blaming my son.

They're
trying to blame my son.

I'm...

- I'm tired.
- Mm-hmm.

I'm... I'm tired.

You... you need to know what's ahead of you.

It's gonna be slow, long.

Might be a year, maybe even more than a year

before the case even goes to trial.

The other side will do anything,

say anything about your
son, you, your family

to walk away from what they did.

You need to advocate
every day, all the time.

But you also need to decide

what you can put yourself through.

Can you handle it?

It's not about me.

All this is about my son.

I need help.

I need... people with me.

But whatever I have to do,
however I have to do it,

there is nothing I won't do for my child.